Chapter 857

Chapter 857

Piercing through the pillar of water, the sea dragon surged upward at an angle, still clamping the ray sea creature in its jaws. It was even twisting as it rose.

That was likely why the trail of purple and blue intertwined behind it like a spiraling helix.

It actually made it all the way through!

However, that wasn’t the only reason Miguel’s eyes widened.

The sea dragon possessed by Yog had forced its way safely through the swarm of sea creatures, having dived deep beneath the water and cut straight through them.

The massive ray beast that Rimuta was riding wasn’t simply being dragged along helplessly. It had bent its body around, coiling its snake-like tail tightly around the sea dragon’s body.

The sharp barb at the end of its tail was even stabbing into the dragon’s underbelly.

Crackle!

Miguel’s view suddenly dropped as a heavy impact rattled through him. Nehat, her body curled inward, slid across the deck as she landed. Miguel gritted his teeth and endured the shock.

"Are you alright, Priest?" asked Nehat, coming to a stop.

Miguel, panting, released the arm wrapped around her shoulder and answered, "You’ve done enough. Thanks to you, we lived..."

Releasing her, Miguel forced strength back into his trembling legs and stood upright on the deck.

As Nehat nodded and rose to her feet, Miguel finally looked around. "I’m alive... fuck..."

"Stop being stubborn and grab my hand!"

"That over there... no way..."

The central deck had become complete chaos.

Some lay sprawled across the boards, gasping for breath, while others helped survivors climb up from the nets. And mixed among them were those staring far off starboard toward the soaring sea creature.

"Get across quickly! We don’t have time!" Sanford stood near the port side, shouting nonstop toward the tilted wreck still protruding from the sea.

He couldn’t help but panic. Even now, far beyond the starboard side, the sea creatures were swarming closer.

After briefly scanning the fairies and beastfolk leaping one after another from the sinking ship, Miguel finally said, "Could I ask you to check how many survived? I think I need to head toward the rear for a bit."

"Gladly. Please take care of the mage, Priest." Nehat answered immediately, as though she had already guessed his intentions, tugging at the rope to free the hook.

Miguel nodded and headed toward the stern.

"The moment everyone’s aboard, we’re departing immediately, Priest! Keep that in mind!" Sanford’s shout followed a moment later. The captain’s usual relaxed demeanor had completely vanished as he repeatedly glanced at the starboard.

Stepping onto the stairs leading down toward the stern deck, Miguel shouted, "Do whatever you need to! Don’t wait on me!"

His eyes remained fixed on the sea beyond the railing.

However, neither Yog nor the ray beast was visible anymore. Only the fading remnants of the spiral trail lingered in the air.

And even now they’re not changing direction.

Miguel narrowed his eyes. The sea creature horde was still charging toward them.

Screech—

If anything, the creatures looked even more frenzied now, shrieking while blue light poured from their eyes.

Whether it was because they had been repeatedly struck by magic or because of an order from their leader, he couldn’t tell.

At this point, I’m no help at all anymore... fuck....

Clicking his tongue, Miguel climbed onto the stern deck and turned his gaze. Lily lay in the center atop a spread cloak.

"It’s magical exhaustion. She’s asleep," Phoebe, seated beside Lily’s head, answered immediately. Nearby, Idris stood with folded arms and nodded.

Miguel answered as he approached them, looking down at Lily, who lay curled on her side without the slightest movement.

"Thanks for looking after her. I’ll take over now."

Not only was her complexion deathly pale, but reddish traces of blood still stained the corners of her mouth.

"I told you not to push yourself so hard," Miguel muttered quietly as he lowered himself onto one knee beside her.

Contrary to his words, he carefully smoothed down her disheveled hair. At the very end, she had probably overexerted herself to buy time to save them.

At that moment, Sanford’s urgent shout erupted from the central deck behind them.

"Row! Turn to port! Right now!"

Everyone had transferred safely by now. After pulling the edge of the cloak up to cover Lily properly, Miguel slowly rose to his feet.

"Bow to port! Row!"

As the Vantruian first mate’s shout rang out, the sinking wreck beyond the port side came fully into view. More than half of the mast had already disappeared beneath the water.

As the Black Wave picked up speed again, Sanford shouted another order. "Essence bead! Prepare the essence bead, please!"

Phoebe sprang to her feet almost instantly.

Pulling a small pouch from inside her clothes, she turned toward the stern and added, "Don’t come near the railing, Priest."

"Understood."

Nodding, Miguel turned his gaze toward the central deck.

Everyone originally aboard the Black Wave had shifted starboard, leaving the middle deck divided into two separate groups now.

Looks like almost everyone made it...

After spotting Nehat standing among the crowd, Miguel turned away again.

Far behind the port, the Silent Storm came into view. It had already passed the sinking wreck completely and was now turning alongside them.

Miguel tracked Diana sliding smoothly down the mast with his eyes before shrugging to himself.

Well, Charlotte’s probably taking care of things over there anyway.

The waves and railing obscured much of the deck, but he could still make out the black-furred beastfolk clad in dazzling armor.

"Huh?"

At that moment, Idris let out a low growl of amazement from beside him. Having turned around completely, he was staring fixedly toward the rear starboard side.

Miguel’s eyes widened as he followed his gaze.

The ship's turn pushed the swarm of sea creatures diagonally toward the rear. Beyond them, the sea dragon Yog was surging upward once again.

The ray sea creature clenched in its long jaws had finally been torn nearly in half, spraying bodily fluids mixed with blue chaos into the air. But that wasn’t why the blue trail cutting across the sky looked so vivid.

"Come then, Purifier! I am here!"

A figure radiating deep blue chaos now stood atop Yog’s broad head.

Miguel stared blankly at the blurry silhouette before muttering, "That’s... the leader?"

"It looks revolting. It appears to be attacking the demigod’s familiar," Idris answered without taking his eyes off the sea dragon disappearing farther into the distance.

"You can actually make that out? Your people really do have ridiculous eyesight—" Miguel’s awkward laugh cut off abruptly.

"Prepare the magic device!"

It wasn’t only because Sanford’s urgent shout had echoed from the central deck. Beyond the falling sea dragon Yog, which left a trail of chaos behind it, a faint golden light shimmered into view.

Idris jerked his head upward in alarm and leapt.

"Idri—" Phoebe shouted from beside the magic device at the stern railing.

Miguel’s eyes widened, his lips parting just as the loud clatter of Idris spinning the pulley rang out. "Brother!"

The golden figure finally came fully into focus. It streaked across the sky with its wings spread wide, leaving behind a long, tail-like afterimage.

Ian, who had been burning through the sea creature fleet, was flying toward the leader of the corrupted.

Swoosh—

A massive pillar of water exploded upward behind the ship just after Idris threw himself aside.

With a horrifying groan that sounded as though it might shatter at any moment, the Black Wave suddenly surged forward.

Only then did Miguel finally flatten himself over Lily protectively, squeezing his eyes shut as he swallowed hard.

Please finish this quickly and come back, Brother! Before we reach that nest, as fast as you can!

He repeated the thought inwardly like a prayer, pouring his heart into it.

***

Boom, boom, boom!

Ian continued gliding forward with his magic wings spread wide before finally letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

At least they won’t catch them now.

His glowing golden eyes remained fixed on the distant smuggling ships vanishing into the spray.

The moment he saw Miguel’s strike miss, he sent Yog toward them.

If the smugglers were attacked again, they clearly wouldn’t survive another hit. And Rimuta had looked ready to unleash something even more devastating.

Though I definitely didn’t expect Yog to smash apart the Crimson Coral Reef.

Still, all things considered, the outcome was about as good as he could’ve hoped for.

Almost all the passengers had escaped safely, and the sea creatures hadn’t overtaken the fleet. On top of that, he had slaughtered plenty of the corrupted from the monster fleet along the way and gained a decent amount of experience.

—Please hurry a little... I’d rather not lose this new body so soon after finally getting it.

The whisper brushing against his thoughts pulled Ian from his reflections. Spreading his magic wings even wider, he looked down below.

Swoosh—

In the middle of the violently churning sea floated Yog’s massive form, drifting like an aircraft carrier.

The giant ray beast still hung half-torn inside the creature’s elongated jaws, likely because Yog was still draining the chaos pouring from the creature’s convulsing body.

However, Ian didn’t spare the ray a glance.

Rumble!

Rimuta sat atop Yog’s head, steadily radiating blue chaos.

The creature’s grotesquely swollen body was now fully covered in dark blue scales. Fang-like horns jutted from its head and shoulders, while rows of sharp-toothed tentacles protruded along both sides of its spine.

This wasn’t a mere mutation; it had become a complete demon.

Honestly, that resembles how I looked fused with chaos.

In any case, the creature had driven its tentacles into the surrounding flesh like roots and remained crouched on one knee.

Blue chaos spread outward around it like creeping cracks, as though it were trying to reclaim the monster beast with its own corruption.

That was probably why Yog had whispered.

Swish!

Of course, Ian had no intention of allowing that. After gauging the distance, he suddenly swept his magic wings backward.

Ian, who had been gliding diagonally through the sky, suddenly dove downward like a falling meteor. His hand tightened around his sword hilt as Rimuta’s back rushed closer with terrifying speed.

Whoosh—

Almost simultaneously, the blue chaos gathered across Rimuta flared brilliantly.

Right. Of course, it wouldn’t be this easy.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Ian wrapped himself in the long, tentacle-like magic wings all at once.

The blue explosion slammed into him an instant later.

Boom!

It failed to pierce the barrier of wings, which had folded around him like a golden flower bud, but the impact was more than enough to halt his descent.

Frowning slightly, Ian spread his wings wide again.

Shaking off the remnants of the explosion, he shot upward and flipped backward through the air.

Beyond the dispersing shockwaves, Yog’s massive body, now infused with violet chaos, came into view.

—Good... You’re not too late, Friend. Though I’ll still need a little time to shake off this bastard.

Yog’s amused whisper echoed lazily as Ian slid down onto the creature’s back. Even then, his eyes never left Rimuta in the distance.

"So, you truly came before me, Purifier."

Rimuta slowly rose to its feet as it spoke in a sinister voice laced with chaos. At the same time, the dark blue blade buried deep inside Yog’s skull was revealed.

A Seven-Branched Sword?

The blade split into several jagged prongs at the end, and like the dark relic Ian had destroyed earlier, it appeared to be made entirely from coral.

Ian’s eyes only twitched for a fleeting instant.

Stopping completely, he slowly straightened and answered calmly, "Yeah. We finally meet."

Letting out a low chuckle, Rimuta continued, "It’s almost astonishing. Not only have you created so much death alone, but you’ve even corrupted a monster beast... Perhaps the stories I’ve heard until now were understated instead."

Its glowing blue eyes, with pupils slit vertically like a reptile’s, swept across the distance to the left, toward the burning monster fleet Ian had left behind.

"If the touch of the heavens had truly reached you, then you would have been nearly invincible in the literal sense, purifier. But here, even the power of your sacred armament cannot last forever—" Rimuta’s voice suddenly faltered as he turned back toward Ian.

It wasn’t because of the magic wings writhing behind him like tentacles.

"Chaos?"

At the center of Ian’s golden eyes, violet light now shimmered faintly. Heat haze began spreading from the crossguard of the black sword hanging loosely in his right hand.

Rimuta bared its sharp teeth and muttered uncertainly, "A Purifier... how could you possibly?"

Ian shrugged lightly and bent his knees a little as he answered, "Well, is it that complicated?"

Rimuta, seemingly too stunned to notice, continued muttering blankly.

"Don’t tell me... weren’t you a purifier? Then what exactly are you?"

The corner of Ian’s lips curled upward slightly.

Meeting the demon’s eyes, now filled with confusion and disbelief, he answered, "I’m Ian Hope."

"Ian Ho—" Rimuta reflexively repeated the name before freezing completely.

A beat later, trembling spread through the blue glow of its slit pupils. "The Dragon Slayer?"